1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications and, more particularly, to a system and method for implementing a QoS aware wireless point-to-multi-point transmission system.
2. Related Art
Telecommunication networks such as voice, data and video networks have conventionally been customized for the type of traffic each is to transport. For example, voice traffic is very latency sensitive but quality is less important, so voice networks are designed to transport voice traffic with limited latency. Traditional data traffic, such as, e.g., a spreadsheet, on the other hand is not latency sensitive, but error-free delivery is required. Conventional telecommunications networks use circuit switching to achieve acceptable end user quality of service (QoS). With the advent of new packet switching high bandwidth data networks, different types of traffic can be transported over a data network. Specifically, convergence of separate voice, data and video networks into a single broadband telecommunications network is enabled. To ensure end user satisfaction, a system is desired that provides QoS for various types of traffic to be transported.
Wireless networks present particular challenges over their wireline counterparts in delivering QoS. For example, wireless networks traditionally exhibit high bit error rates (BER) due to a number of reasons. Conventional wireless networks also implement circuit switched connections to provide reliable communications channels. However the use of circuit switched connections allocates bandwidth between communicating nodes whether or not traffic is constantly being transferred between the nodes. Therefore, circuit switched connections use communications bandwidth rather inefficiently.
Packet switching makes more efficient use of available bandwidth than does traditional circuit switching. Packet switching breaks up traffic into so-called xe2x80x9cpacketsxe2x80x9d which can then be transported from a source node to a destination for reassembly. Thus a particular portion of bandwidth can be shared by many sources and destinations yielding more efficient use of bandwidth.
A wireless broadband access telecommunications system is desired which can provide a QoS capability that is comparable to that delivered by wireline broadband access devices. Conventionally, one of the barriers to the deployment of wireless broadband access systems has been the absence of acceptable QoS characteristics, while at the same time delivering bandwidth sufficient to qualify as broadband. Delivery of raw bandwidth over wireless media without acceptable QoS would not benefit end users. Likewise, the delivery of a high level of QoS at the cost of sufficient bandwidth would also not benefit endusers.
Conventional efforts to provide wireless broadband access systems have not granted sufficient priority to QoS as a guiding principle in architecting the wireless systems, resulting in sub-optimal designs. With the rapid emergence of the Internet, the packet switching paradigm, and transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) as a universal data protocol, it has become clear that a new wireless system design has become necessary.
What is needed then is an IP-centric wireless broadband access system with true QoS capabilities.
The present invention provides a wireless telecommunications network having superior quality of service. A method for assigning future slots of a transmission frame to a data packet in the transmission frame for transmission over a wireless telecommunication network system includes applying an advanced reservation algorithm, reserving a first slot for a first data packet of an internet protocol (IP) flow in a future transmission frame based on the algorithm, reserving a second slot for a second data packet of the IP flow in a transmission frame subsequent in time to the future transmission frame based on the algorithm, wherein the second data packet is placed in the second slot in an isochronous manner to the placing of the first data packet in the first slot.
In one embodiment there is a periodic variation between the placing of the first data packet in the first slot and the placing of the second data packet in the second slot. While in another embodiment there is no periodic variation between the placing of the first data packet in the first slot and the placing of the second data packet in the second slot.
The advanced reservation algorithm makes a determination whether the IP flow is jitter-sensitive.
Isochronous data packets are provided in a telecommunications system, the telecommunications system including a wireless base station coupled to a first data network, one or more host workstations coupled to the first data network, one or more subscriber customer premise equipment (CPE) stations in wireless communication with the wireless base station over a shared bandwidth using a packet-centric protocol, one or more subscriber workstations coupled to each of the subscriber CPE stations over a second network, and resource allocation means optimizing end-user quality of service (QoS) and allocating shared bandwidth among the subscriber CPE stations, wherein there is applied an advanced reservation algorithm to an internet protocol (IP) flow to reserve succeeding slots in one or more succeeding future transmission frames of the IP flow in an isochronous manner based on the algorithm. There may be or not be a periodic variation between the successive reserving of the succeeding slots while the algorithm determines whether the IP flow is jitter-sensitive or not.
A system for assigning future slots of a transmission frame to a data packet in the transmission frame for transmission over a wireless medium includes a means for applying an advanced reservation algorithm, a means for reserving a first slot for a first data packet of an internet protocol (IP) flow in a future transmission frame based on the algorithm, a means for reserving a second slot for a second data packet of the IP flow in a transmission frame subsequent in time to the future transmission frame based on the algorithm, wherein the second data packet is placed in the second slot in an isochronous manner to the placing of the first data packet in the first slot. The placement may be done periodically or not. The advance reservation algorithm is used to determine whether the IP flow is jitter-sensitive.
The system provides isochronous data packets in a telecommunications system, the telecommunications system can include a wireless base station coupled to a first data network, one or more host workstations coupled to the first data network, one or more subscriber customer premise equipment (CPE) stations in wireless communication with the wireless base station over a shared bandwidth using a packet-centric protocol, one or more subscriber workstations coupled to each of the subscriber CPE stations over a second network, and resource allocation means optimizing end-user quality of service (QoS) and allocating shared bandwidth among the subscriber CPE stations, the system including a means for applying an advanced reservation algorithm to an internet protocol (IP) flow, and a means for reserving succeeding slots in one or more succeeding future transmission frames of the IP flow in an isochronous manner based on the algorithm.
The system can provide periodic variation between successive reservations of succeeding transmission slots or not while the advanced reservation algorithm determines whether the IP flow is jitter-sensitive.
The cross-referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.